Staggered ply tube body



Nov. 20, 1962 M. H. STARK 'A STAGGERED PLY TUBE BODY Filed June 27, 19612 Sheets-Sheet 1 SMH/1015544 mm1/9# A TTORNEVS Nov. 20, 1962 Filed June27 1961 M. H. STARK STAGGERED PLY TUBE BODY /Nys/vroe M/mrnv H. STARK ATTQRNEVS United States lrateht @dice Patented Nov. Ztl, 1552 3,654,544STAGGEREEB PLY TUBE BGDY Martin H. Stark, 223 N. Porter, Saginaw, Mich.Filed .lune 27, 196i, Ser. No. dlo 9 Claims. (Cl. 93-94) This inventionrelates to -tube bodies of the type which are employed in pasteboardcontainers, composite metalpasteboard containers, containers lined withsaran or other uid impervious material, ber drums, and other similarcontainers.

Objects of the invention are to provide tube bodies, and method offorming said bodies, wherein:

(l) Desired lining materials may be easily incorporated into the tubebody during the tube body-forming operation,

(2) The lining materials (including barrier materials between plies)may, if desired, occupy any number of plies without being required to bewound up around all of tube body plies, as per the present convolutemethod; thereby enabling placement of the liningl materials in only themost advantageous positions so as to utilize a minimum amount of liningmaterial for a given lining function,

(3) The single inside lining ply (of metal foil or plastic material forexample) can be incorporated in such a way as to fully seal 01T theexposed or so called raw edge of the next ply of material; therebypreventing a wicking action of the ply material.

(4) The tube body may be formed by a method wherein the high productionadvantages of the conventional spiral method are combined with the tubebody strength advantages of the conventional convolute method,

(5) The formed tube body may be made up of multiple numbers of plies,without seriously impeding tube body output,

(6) The points of adjacent plies may be staggered to provide a tube bodyof maximum strength,

(7) The tube body may be formed of various different cross sections,including round or rectangular; it being noted that the conventionalspiral method can only be used to form round cross-sectioned tubes.

(8) The tube body-forming materials may be formed into the tube bodywithout danger or" crumpling, wrinkling, tearing, splitting, orotherwise breaking apart during the tube body-forming operation,

(9) The tube body may be provided with a iabe Sheet as the tube body isbeing formed, and the labe sheet may be printed as it is beingintroduced onto the tube body, thereby lowering production costs andhandling costs incident to the labelling operation.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following descriptionand appended claims, reference bein had to the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this specification wherein like reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts in the several views.

On the drawings:

FIGURE l is a schematic elevational view of one apparatus which can beutilized to form the tube body of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a schematic plan View of the Fifi-URE l apparatus;

FXGURE 3 is a cross sectional view of a tube body constructed accordingto the present invention;

FlG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on line 4 4 in FIG' l and showingthe tube body-forming materials prior to their being bent vinto theFIGURE 3 conguration;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view in the same direction as FGURE 3 butof a round tube body.

Eefore explaining the present invention in detail, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to thedetails of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also,it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employedherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

-ln the drawings there is shown a hollow tube Ibody l formed of aplurality of separate superimposed plyforming sheets 2, 3, 4 and 5, eachhaving their lateral edges positioned together to form one ply of thetube body. lf desired the edges of each ply may overlap each other forincreased strength and be skived or beveled to provide a non-bumpyjoint. innermost sheet 2 (which may be considered as constituting aliner) is preferably formed of metal foil, polyvinylidene chloride,polyethylene, rubber hydrochloride iilm, or other material impervious tothe passage or" fluids. Sheets 3 and 4 are preferably formed of a lowcost material such as pasteboard or cardboard. Sheet 5 is preferablyconstructed of paper, and is preferably printed with suitableadvertising indicia, whereby to constitute a label sheet. Suitableadhesives are applied on the faces of sheets 2 through 5 whereby to holdthe sheets in their FIGURE 3 tube-body-forming positions. It will benoted that the joints 6 and 7 which the ends of sheets 4 and 5 make witheach other are staggered laterally (i.e. in directions at right anglesto the tube body axis). This lateral staggering of joints 6 and 7greatly increases the strength of the tube body.

Tube body l is preferably formed by the apparatus schematicallyillustrated in FIGURES l and 2. Said apparatus includes a plurality ofrolls 8 through lll for supplying the various sheet materials Z through5. lt will be noted that the edges l2 through l5 of sheets 2 through 5are offset with respect to one another by suitable axial ofisetting ofsupply rolls S through il, the purpose of this arrangement being toachieve the aforementioned staggering of the ply joints.

As label sheet 5 is unwound from supply roll 1l it passes through aconventional printing mechanism lo. Each of sheets 2 through 5 passesthrough a creasing mechanism 17.

Mechanism 17 preferably includes a series of rollers 18 through 25, eachtwo adiacent rollers being adapted to form creases in one of the sheets2, 3, i or 5. Rollers 1S, 2G, Z2 and 24 are each provided with a seriesof peripheral ribs 26; and rollers i9, 2l, 23 and 25 are each providedwith a series of mating peripheral grooves 27. These ribs and groovescause creases to be formed in the sheets as they are fed between rollersllS through 25. The ribs and grooves are so spaced from each other alongthe axes of the rollers that the creases are formed in those portionsor' the sheets which will subsequently form the corners or the tubebody. The purpose of the creases is to facilitate bending of the sheetsand to compensate for the increased peripheral distances which theoutermost sheets must travel as they are being formed into the FIGURE 3configuration, as will be more apparent later in the description.

After leaving crease mechanism 17 each of sheets 2 through S passesthrough a conventional adhesive applicator mechanism 2S, and thereafterthrough combining mechanism 29. Mechanism 29 consists merely of tworollers (not shown) which press the various sheets together to effect aninitial adherence or" the sheets through the intermediary of thepreviously applied adhesive.

From combining mechanism 29 the adhered-together sheets pass through acut-ofiC mechanism 30, the function 3 of which is to cut the adheredsheets to the desired tube body length. Mechanism 3i) may be aconventional rotary cutter, traveling cutter, or platen cutter.

The cut-to-length sheets are fed eventually into a tube body-formingmechanism; but in those cases where special materials, such as metalfoil, are employed for liner sheet 2 it is desirable that a specialadhesive be applied on the edge portion 3l of the liner sheet whichoverlaps the other edge portion of said sheet (see FIGURE 3).

This requirement is necessitated by the fact that adhesive suitable foruse between two pasteboard surfaces or between a pasteboard surface anda metal or plastic surface are not suitable for use Vbetween two plasticor two metal surfaces, either because of adhesive cost differences orbond strength deiieiencies. In order that overlapping portion 3l mayhave its own adhesive the sheets are fed from mechanism Stl into an edgegluing mechanism 32, the purpose of which is to apply a film of adhesivealong the upper surface of edge portion 31. Mechanism 32 preferablyincludes an adhesive-applying roller having an axial dimensioncorresponding to the width of edge portion 31.

After leaving mechanism 32 the sheets are movably supported on endlessbelt conveyor 33, which is defined by pulleys 34 and 35 and belts 36.

Thereafter the sheets are introduced between endless movable belts 37and chain conveyor 3S. Chain conveyor 38 is defined by sprockets 39 and40, vand endless chains 41. Chain conveyor 38 is intended to act as adevice for insuring that the adjacent sheet lengths are spaced apartfrom one another; and to that end chains 41 are provided with lugs 42.Chains 41 are moved at a linear speed slightly in excess of that ofbelts 36. As a result lugs 42 are caused to contact the upstream or rearedge of each sheet length so as to space the sheet lengths apart fromone another.

While the sheet lengths are still under the influence of conveyor 38they are fed onto a movable conveyor 43 which is defined by pulleys 44and 45 and belt 46.

f Belt d6 runs beneath a lixed mandrel 47 of the type disclosed inPatent No. 2,933,988, dated April 26, 1960. Another belt 48 runs throughmandrel 47 in the same -manner as belt 3l in the aforesaid Patent No.2,933,988 dated April 26, 1960. Suitable deflecting mechanisms (notshown) are provided for causing the sheet lengths to be wrapped aroundthe mandrel as they travel therealong under the influence of belts 4 6and 48. The di- 'rection of travel of belt 48 is indicated by arrow 49.

The operation of the mandrel, belts 46, 4S and the deilecting mechanismsis set forth in detail in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,933,988. Y

Accordingly, a detailed description of the operation is not included inthe present application.

It will be appreciated that as the sheet lengths are wrapped aroundmandrel 47 the outermost plies must shift or travel in a peripheraldirection relative to the innermost plies in order to compensate for thethickness of the innermost plies; it being understood that the eiectiveperipheral surface of the mandrel, insofar as the outermost plies areconcerned, is that provided by the innermost plies (which is of coursegreater than that of the mandrel proper). rlhis peripheral shiftng ofthe sheets is undesirable in that the initial set of the adhesive bondsbetween adjacent plies is upset; even though the bonds are subsequentlyreset' after the tube body assumes its FIGURE 3configuration, the bondsnever fully regain the strength which they potentially possessed priorto their being upset (le. which they would have had after completecuring if no bond breakage had taken place).

One function of the aforementioned creases in the sheets is to localizeas much as possible the extent of bond upsetting during the tubebody-forming operation. Thus, as the sheets undergo the wrapping actionaround mandrel 47 the creases provide an excess of sheet material,whereby the amount of sheet shifting along each face of the mandrel isat a minimum, both as respects the distance each sheet shifts and thearea of sheet subject to shifting. In this'regard, the areas of sheetmaterial 59, 5l and 52 along the central portions of each mandrel facedo not undergo any shifting; substantially all of the shifting takesplace adjacent the creased portions. Without the creases almost theentire extent of the outermost sheets would undergo -a shifting action;with a resultant increase in the extent of bond breakage. Because theoutermost sheets undergo a greater peripheral shift than the innermostsheets the'amount of creaseforming material in the outermost sheets ispreferably greater than in the innermost sheets, however this relationmay be reversed. The amount of crease-forming material may be varied byvarying the amplitude of the creases and/or the number of creases. Insome cases the creases may be omitted in certain of the sheets. ln theinterest of giving a comparatively smooth eye-pleasing appearance to thetube body the amplitude of the creases is preferably maintained as smallas possible, with the total number of creases being varied accordingly.During the tube body-forming operation the creases in the outermostsheet are to a great extent ironed out by the aforementioned sheetshifting action, and the nished tube body presents a substantiallysmooth surface at the tube body corners.

:In practice the creases in the tube body sheets also serve to prevent afolding over or ycrumpling of the liner sheet, particularly along thenarrowest planar faces of the tube body. Without the creases (andparticularly when the metal foil is employed as the liner material) anobjectionable irregular folding action takes place in the liner sheet.

The tube body is illustrated in FIGURE 3 as being rectangular in crosssection, but it is contemplated that round, oblong 'or other crosssectioned tube bodies could also be formed. In the case of a round tubebody there may be provided a number of creases in one or more of thetube body sheets, with the creases being spaced evenly around the tubebody periphery. The.

staggered joint constructionrobtained by offsetting of the sheetmaterial supply rolls may also be realized inv round or oblong tubebodies.

The described method of forming the tube bodiesresults in relativelyhigher tube body output speeds than either of the conventional spiralmethod or the conventional convolute method. Additionally the tuberbodystrength characteristics of the convolute method are attained; In theconventional spiral method the tube plies are introduced onto a fixedmandrel at an angle to the mandrel axis so as to spiral around themandrel during the tube-forming operation. Tubes formed by the spiralmethod do not possess relativelyV high strength characteristics. In theconventional convolute method around a rotating mandrel, andsubsequently stripped therefrom. The convolute methodA is not adaptedforeconomical incorporation of lining materials during the tube-formingoperation (due to the fact that the liningswhich are sometimes costlymaterials-would necessarily be wound up between successive tube plies,thereby necessitating an inordinately large amount of lining material).in the present method the lining materials are incorporated with theother materials into a one-piece sheet before being cut to length;thereby permitting the use of a minimum amount of fluid impervious (butcomparatively high cost) lining materials of relatively thin easilyliexed material. These materials are prone to collapse unless otherwisesupported, but because they are introduced onto the other sheets whilestill in the form of a continuous web the danger of their collapsing iseliminated, and their incorporation into the tube body is greatlyfacilitated.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my earlier 5 iiledapplication, Serial No. 586,525, iiled May 22, 1956, now abandoned.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. In a method of making a multi-sided laminated tube of non-circularcross-section including the steps of assembling a plurality ofindividual iibrous webs and a noniibrous liner web into a compositemulti-thickness sheet, transversely severing the sheet and wrapping thesame about a transverse axis into a polygonal tubular configurationhaving an internal liner, the improvements f transversely andindividually creasing the webs prior to their adhesive assembly and atlocations corresponding to the juncture of adjacent tube sides, theextent of creasing of the webs increasing with increasing distance fromthe liner in the iinal article and being suiiicient to accumulateadditional material in the Webs when laminated to accommodate subsequentWrapping of the multithickness sheet about said axis, said liner webbeing creased to an extent substantially less than the extent ofcreasing of any of the fibrous webs.

2. In a method of making a multi-ply laminated tube of non-circularcross section including the steps of assembling a plurality ofindividual iibrous webs into a composite multi-thickness sheet,transversely severing the sheet and wrapping the same about a transverseaxis into a polygonal tubular conguration, the improvements oftransversely creasing the individual fibrous webs to ditterent extentsprior to their adhesive assembly and at locations corresponding to thejuncture of adjacent tube sides to accumulate additional material in thewebs when laminated to accommodate subsequent wrapping of themulti-thickness sheet about said axis, the extent of creasing of eachweb increasing in direct proportion to the distance of the web in thenal tube from the innermost ply of the tube.

3. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein the innermost ply of thefinal tube is a non-fibrous, fluid-impervious liner additional to theplurality of individual iibrous webs.

4. yIn a method of making a multi-ply laminated tube of non-circularcross section including the steps of assembling a plurality ofindividual fibrous webs into a composite multi-thickness sheet,transversely severing the sheet and wrapping the same about a transverseaxis into a polygonal tubular coniguration, the improvements oftransversely creasing the individual iibrous webs to different extentsprior to their adhesive assembly and at locations corresponding to thejuncture of adjacent tube sides to accumulate additional material in thewebs when laminated to accommodate subsequent wrapping of themulti-thickness sheet about said axis, the extent of creasing of eachweb increasing in direct proportion to the disd tance or ghe web in thefinal tube from the outermost ply of the tube.

5. The method as delined in claim 4, wherein the innermost ply of thefinal tube is a non-iibrous, iiuid-impervious liner additional to theplurality of individual fibrous webs.

6. .in a method of making a multi-ply laminated tube of substantiallycircular cross-section including the steps of assembling a plurality ofindividual fibrous webs into a composite multi-thickness sheet,transversely severing the sheet and wrapping the same about a transverseaxis into a tubular configuration, the improvements `of transverselycreasiny the individual iibrous webs to diiierent extents and at aplurality of substantially equidistant locations prior to their adhesiveassembly to accumulate additional material in the webs when laminated toaccommodate subsequent wrapping of the multithicness sheet about saidaxis, said creases each extending parallel to the axis about which thesheet is wrapped and the extent of creasing in each web incresing indirect proportion to the distance of the web in the iinal tube 'from theinnermost ply of the tube. t 7. The method as defined in claim 6,wherein the innermost ply of the iinal tube is a non-ibrousfluid-impervious liner additional to the plurality of individual iibrouswebs.

8. In a method of making a multi-ply laminated tube of substantiallycircular cross-section including the steps of assembling a plurality ofindividual iibrous webs into a composite multi-thickness sheet,transversely severing the sti-eet and vi/rapping the same about atransverse axis into a tubular configuration, the improvements oftransversely creasing the individual fibrous webs to different extentsand at a plurality of substantially equidistant locations prior to theiradhesive assembly to accumulate additional material in the webs whenlamihated to accommodate subsequent wrapping of the multithickness sheetabout said axis, said creases each extending parallel to the axis aboutwhich the sheet is wrapped and the extent of creasing in each webincreasing in direct proportion to the distance of the web in the finaltube from the outermost ply of the tube.

9. The method as defined in claim 8, wherein the innermost ply of thenal tube is a non-fibrous fluidimpervious liner additional to theplurality of individual fibrous webs.

arbeck May 20, 1913 Haycock Sept. 16, 1941

